Red Bull moves to dismiss concerns over harmful additives in China

Red Bull has been pulled from China's shelves following concerns of unauthorised additives

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Supermarket chains in China have stopped selling Red Bull products even as the company has moved to dismiss concerns that the drink may contain unauthorised additives.

After reports that the drink may contain unauthorised and harmful additives spread over the weekend, retailers in China, such as Carrefour, were reported to have removed Red Bull stocks from shelves pending government results.

An India-based official with Red Bull confirmed to FoodNavigator-Asia that the drink was being recalled in the French chain’s stores in China.

Austrian company, Red Bull GmbH, said its drinks do not contain the additives in question.

It is understood that the company approached the Chinese regulators on 12 February over the issue.

On 13 February, Red Bull published an endorsement from China’s Food Quality Supervision and Inspection Center on its website, which showed that the test from the Chinese food safety agency on Red Bull samples showed the products met the national standards and did not contain unauthorized additives

It is however unclear, as of deadline, if stores have taken note and started putting back Red Bull on their shelves following the statement.

Harbin media reports caused roll back

The Chinese scare about Red Bull started after media reports in the city of Harbin revealed that some of the drink's ingredients were not registered with the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).

The SFDA confirmed that it had launched a preliminary probe on collaboration with its provincial units but did not order any roll back of Red Bull products from stores.

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